Holden, Altmire, Carney: public option "only a fallback"
Pennsylvania congressmen Tim Holden, Jason Altmire, and Chris Carney have joined other Blue Dog Democrats in supporting the delay of a public health insurance option until it has been demonstrated that private insurance carriers have failed to meet "targets" for "adequate competition and cost containment."
The Blue Dog Coalition is comprised of moderate and conservative Democratic members of Congress.
Patrick Murphy, the fourth Pennsylvania Blue Dog, has distanced himself from the others. A June 4th statement from his staff indicated the following:
"Congressman Murphy stands with President Obama in supporting the inclusion of a public option in health care reform legislation. While the Congressman is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, he does not always agree with them on every issue. In this case, he does not believe that we should wait several years to see if our currently broken system gets worse before introducing a public option. Including a public plan as one of many choices in a health insurance exchange is a good way to introduce transparancy and competition into the insurance market, curb sky-rocketing costs, and hold private insurance companies accountable so that we can finally accomplish comprehensive, genuine reform this year."
The statement issued by the Blue Dog Coalition states the following:
"The availability of a public option (sh)ould occur only as a fallback and in the absence of adequate competition and cost containment. Fundamental insurance market reforms and increased choice through a (national insurance) exchange should improve access and contribute to lower costs. However, should the private plans fail to meet specific availability and cost targets, a public option would be triggered and be allowed to compete on a level playing field subject to (outlined) conditions."
The Blue Dog Coalition's statement appears to assume that a public plan option would be very similar to Medicare. That assumption is not being made in other quarters; indeed, various models remain under consideration, including a public plan administered by a private entity under contract with the federal government.
All public plan options, however, assume that the health insurance industry has failed to deliver cost-effective health care to the American people. By offering a publicly-backed public plan, Americans would have an additional option to evaluate and compare with what private carriers are offering.
The PA Health Access Network (PHAN) has endorsed a public plan option as a necessary aspect of health reform. In communications with Holden, Altmire and Carney, PHAN stated: "America has come to a fork in the road: we can either bring health care costs under control or we can preserve the existing business model of the insurance companies. We can not do both."
PHAN also has express skepticism that "a wait and see approach" to implementation of a public plan option would work. "This is the same industry that has a huge impact on our electoral system through its contributions to campaigns, that has failed to honor the promises it made in the '90s about reducing costs, and that has already pulled back from promises it made to President Obama a month ago. Why do we imagine that the mere threat of a future public plan will bring them in line?"
The public plan option has become a flash-point in the debate around national health reform. Recently, Senator Chuck Grassley, the leading Republican member on the Senate Finance Committee, said that over 100 million people are likely to enroll in a public plan if given the opportunity. Grassley plainly thought such a result would be bad because it would cause some private companies to leave the business of health insurance.
On the other hand, if the United States is to bring health costs under control, major changes will be required in the way insurers, providers, employers and consumers approach health care. The fact that Congressmen Holden, Altmire and Carney still seem not convinced of this is cause for concern.
Attached is a 1-page flyer on why we need a strong public option to be part of health reform.
Comments
Post new comment